APOEL will be hoping to come back from a single-goal deficit to go past Romanian champions Viitorul in the third qualifying round of Champions League.

This will be much easier said than done for the Cypriot side since the Romanians have a respectable squad ready for big things in their debut in the most elite football competition in Europe.

APOEL Nicosia

Unlike their opponents, APOEL participated in the group phase of the competition back in 2012 and 2014, but they haven’t managed to pass qualifications in two consecutive years.

Even though the hosts kept the core of the last year’s squad, they just don’t seem to be enjoying their best shape at the start of the new season.

APOEL barely went past Luxembourg’s F91 Dudelange in the second qualifying round and they were fairly outplayed in the first leg of the tie with Viitorul seven days ago.

FC Viitorul Constanta

The visitors are enjoying the best days in their history following their first ever title in the top flight of the Romanian football and their Champions League debut.

The team is led by the legend of the Romanian football Gheorghe Hagi who gave everything towards the Champions League success as he mixed up the lineup in both of the back-to-back defeats to CFR Cluj and Dinamo Bucharest at the start of the new season in the domestic competition.

APOEL Nicosia vs Viitorul: Head to head

Viitorul controlled the pitch in the first leg as every single statistical parameter went in their favour.

The Romanians struggled a lot to break the deadlock, but it was eventually Cristian Ganea who made the difference netting the only goal of the game 15 minutes from time.

APOEL Nicosia vs Viitorul: Prediction

The stakes are huge for both sides and there are no doubts that we can expect a careful approach from both managers.

In such circumstances, we just can’t see the high-scoring scenario as the Under 2.5 goals FT is a banker bet at the odds of 8/15.